My debut novel: This Beats Perfect

THIS BEATS PERFECT is the story of a precocious girl who dreams of picking up guitars not guys… Come on girls, make some noise.
Amelie Ayres has impeccable taste in music. Bowie. Bush. Bob. So when she finds herself backstage at The Keep’s only UK gig she expects to hate it; after all they are the world’s most tragic band. In fact she feels a grudging respect – not (obviously) for their music, but for the work that goes in to making them megastars. And when lead singer, ‘Maxx’, is not dressed up as a cross between Elvis and a My Little Pony, he is actually rather normal, talented and has creative struggles not too dissimilar to her own.

But the next morning she wakes up and rolls over to discover a million new @’s on social media. Overnight, a photo of her at the gig has made her a subject of global speculation. Suddenly the world needs to know #Who’sThatGirl? – but for all the wrong reasons.

All Amelie wants is to play her music. She’s got the guitar, the songs, the soul and, in the safety of her bedroom, she’s got the voice. But when it comes to getting up on stage, she struggles with self-doubt. Immaculate’s a concept. Flawless is fake. But just sometimes music – and hearts – can rock a perfect beat.

This Beats Perfect is about finding your voice in a world dominated by social media, adult opinions and manufactured art.